Forced charitable contributions at Ukrposhta: Smelyansky comments on the scandal
4 January 17:08
Ukrposhta CEO Ihor Smelyansky has responded to a post by MP Nina Yuzhanina in which she wrote that the postal operator had made charitable contributions compulsory. Smelyansky published the post on his Telegram channel, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
“I didn’t want to end the first week of the year with a shit, but when you are faced with unprofessionalism and a basic level of adequacy, you can’t keep silent,” Smelyansky wrote.
Commenting on Nina Yuzhanina’s post, the CEO of the national postal operator noted that all funds that pass through Ukrposhta and the KSE Foundation (Tymofiy Mylovanov’s charity) are carefully checked by international auditors and law enforcement. And thanks to charity stamps and donations, Ukrposhta and KSE Foundation have provided assistance worth more than UAH 67 million.
“This includes a demining machine for UAH 18 million, bomb shelters for students, assistance to hospitals and animal shelters, and, of course, drones and the most necessary equipment for the Armed Forces,” Smelyansky said.
He also added that Ukrposhta, as a state-owned company, is not allowed to engage in charitable activities under its charter. Therefore, according to Smelyansky, the format of cooperation with the KSE Foundation was chosen.
“All the funds go directly to the foundation. And the foundation helps us to purchase everything we need. Moreover, the foundation takes care of all the checks, administration and audit,” the CEO of the national postal operator summarized.
In addition, Smelyansky expressed his complaints against MP Nina Yuzhanina. Thus, he said that she was most likely not competent to be the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Taxation and Customs Policy.
The official also suggested “checking whether Ms. Yuzhanina’s higher education diplomas are valid” and said that he “could not quickly find strong charitable support for the Armed Forces from Ms. Yuzhanina.”
What preceded this
On January 3, Nina Yuzhanina, a member of the Finance Committee, reported that the national postal operator Ukrposhta automatically adds 1 hryvnia to the cost of delivery of each parcel as a charitable contribution to support the Armed Forces.
According to the MP, the funds are directed to the Kyiv School of Economics Charitable Foundation.
“And the founder of this charitable foundation is the Kyiv School of Economics Corporation, Tymofiy Mylovanov, who is also the Chairman of the Board of this charitable foundation,” Yuzhanina noted.
According to her estimates, given the number of parcels handled by Ukrposhta in 2023, such a scheme can bring the charity fund “at least UAH 50 million a year.”
The MP emphasized that Tymofiy Mylovanov was the Minister of Economy in the first Zelenskyy government, and today he is a freelance adviser to the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak.
Yuzhanina believes that the actions of Ukrposhta’s CEO should be assessed by the relevant law enforcement agencies for their legality.
